Berks County police arrest 12 in Topton-area drug ring

A dozen people were charged in a Topton-drug bust on Monday morning, according… (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO, THE…)

May 05, 2014|By Manuel Gamiz Jr., Of The Morning Call

Sparked by concerns over recent heroin overdose deaths, Berks County authorities took down a drug-dealing ring Monday morning in the Topton area, charging a dozen people, including a Macungie man and two Brandywine Heights High School students, authorities said.

Detectives with the Berks County District Attorney's Drug Task Force and state police raided several locations Monday as part of the four-month-long investigation sparked by numerous complaints from concerned citizens over the overdoses, according to Berks County Chief County Detective Michael J. Gombar.

At least five people from the Brandywine Heights area have died from drug overdoses this year, Gombar said. Last month, school district and state officials held meetings at Kutztown High School and Brandywine Heights to raise awareness on the growing problem of drugs in their communities. The Brandywine Heights meeting drew 600 people, while the Kutztown meeting attracted 200.

During the police investigation, undercover detectives bought between $30 and $170 worth of heroin, cocaine and marijuana from drug dealers in the Topton area, Gombar said. Most of those charged were between 17 and 21 years old, which matches the national trend of young people using and dealing heroin, Gombar said.

He described those charged as low-level dealers, as far as the money they were making.

"We do not want to underscore the significance of this investigation," Gombar said. "They all have the potential to deal the fatal dose."

Gombar said the reason heroin abuse has become such an epidemic is because the drug is more potent and less expensive than it's ever been. A dose of heroin can sell for as low as $3, compared to $10 a dose two decades ago, Gombar said.

"It's the most addictive drug out there right now," he said, "and it can be a life sentence."

Two teens were arrested at Brandywine Heights, 18-year-old Cameron Grace, a senior, and a 17-year-old girl who had heroin on her when she was arrested, Gombar said. The girl, a junior, is being charged as a juvenile with drug dealing, he said.